Uniform History Page Five | HailToPurple.com

The History of the
Wildcat Uniform
Page Five

2016 - 2021
(Purple)

2016 - Present
(White)

In 2016, for the first time since the 2012 switch to Under Armour, NU made some adjustments to its standard uniforms.

JERSEY: The purple and white standard jerseys were very similar to the initial 2012 UA jerseys, with the following modifications:

The numbers were no longer patterned with the faint gray brickwork design. Instead, they were plain fabric. The purple jerseys still had white numbers on the chest, back and shoulders. However, the white jerseys changed number colors. The chest and back numbers had been a very dark shade, nearly black. In 2016 they changed to flat black. The shoulder, or TV, numbers had been purple. They are now also black.
The collar was made a consistent color with the rest of the jersey (this was different from the retail replica jerseys, which had a Northwestern stripe design on the collar. The NU basketball jerseys also had a Northwestern stripe collar).
NU dropped the "W.I.N." wordmark on the bottom of the jerseys (the replicas kept it).
2016-2019: NU added a Northwestern stripe design on the sleeve ends. Unlike previous sleeve stripes, however, these stripes were vertical instead of horizontal. For 2020 and 2021, NU dropped the odd sleeve stripes.

HELMET: No major changes to NU's 1981 helmet design. The front plate still featured the "W.I.N." wordmark. While this technically remained NU's standard helmet, NU only wore it a couple of times. The team used a series of alternate helmets instead (see below), using helmets with the 'Cat Head design half of the time. The black helmet with purple N was also used frequently.

The 2018 version of the standard helmet had a few minor modifications. The N was slightly larger, resembling the logo as it appeared on the helmets in the 1980s. The helmet color appeared to be a darker purple. The 'Cat head awards were discontinued.

In 2020, NU used its standard helmet with a black facemask, and -- against Wiscinsin and Ohio State-- it brought back the white facemask with the standard helmet for the first time since 1990.

PANTS:

2016 - 2019: The biggest change to the 2016 uniform was the addition of Northwestern stripes to the pants, just above the knee. Unlike most pants stripes, which are vertical, these were horizontal, and appeared on the front of the pants. The black pants had purple stripes, as did the white pants. The purple pants had black stripes. Purple, black, and white were used interchangeably at home and on the road. The pants still featured a small Northwestern N on the left hip, but did not have the "Wildcats" wordmark on the back waist that the 2012 pants did.
2020 - 2021: The pants no longer had the Northwestern stripe on the front, but still had the N on the left hip.

Here are the various uniform combinations used during 2016 through 2022. Note: if an entry in the list is in purple, that indicates the debut for that particular part of the Under Armour uni.

See the bottom of the page for the description of the alternate uniform components.

2016 Game	Helmet	Jersey	Pants
W. Mich. - Home	Alt. White, Purple N	Purple	White
Ill. State - Home	Alt. Purple, Flag N	Purple	White
Duke - Home	Alt. Black, Purple N	Purple	Black
Nebraska - Home	Alt. Black, 'Cat Head	Black	Black
Iowa - Away	Alt. White, Purple N	White	White
Michigan St. - Away	Alt. Purple, 'Cat Head	White	Purple
Indiana - Home	Alt. Purple, 'Cat Head	Purple	Black
Ohio State - Away	Alt. White, Black N	White	Black
Wisconsin - Home	Alt. Purple, 'Cat Head	Alt. Graphite	Alt. Graphite
Purdue - Away	Standard Purple, White N	White	Purple
Minnesota - Away	Alt. White, 'Cat Head	White	White
Illinois - Home	Alt. Black, 'Cat Head	Black	Purple
Pitt - Pinstripe Bowl	Alt. Black, Purple N	Purple	Black

2017 Game	Helmet	Jersey	Pants
Nevada - Home	Alt. White, Purple N	Purple	Purple
Duke - Away	Alt. White, Chrome N	White	White
Bowling Green - Home	Alt. Black, Black N	Black	Alt. Graphite
Wisconsin - Away	Standard Purple, White N	White	Purple
Penn State - Home	Standard Purple, White N	Black	Purple
Maryland - Away	Alt. White, Black N	White	White
Iowa - Home	Alt. White, '62 TBack	Purple	White
Michigan St. - Home	Alt. Black, P&G 'Cat Head	Black	Black
Nebraska - Away	Alt. White, 'Cat Head	White	Purple
Purdue - Home	Alt. Purple, Flag N	Alt. Graphite	Alt. Graphite
Minnesota - Home	Alt. Black, Black N	Black	White
Illinois - Away	Alt. White, 'Cat Head	White	Alt. Graphite
Kentucky - Music City	Alt. Black, Purple N	Purple	Purple

2018 Game	Helmet	Jersey	Pants
Purdue - Away	Alt. White, 'Cat Head	White	Alt. Graphite
Duke - Home	Alt. White, Flag N	Alt. Graphite	White
Akron - Home	Alt. Purple, Black N	Black	Black
Michigan - Home	Alt. Purple, 'Cat Head	Purple	White
Michigan St. - Away	Alt. Black, Purple N	White	Purple
Nebraska - Home	Alt. Black, Purple N	Purple	Black
Rutgers - Away	Alt. White, Purple N	White	Purple
Wisconsin - Home	Alt. Black, Purple N	Alt. Graphite	Black
Notre Dame - Home	Alt. White, '62 TBack	Purple	White
Iowa - Away	Alt. White, 2018 Camo	White	White
Minnesota - Away	Alt. Black, Purple N	White	Black
Illinois - Home	Standard Purple, White N	Black	Purple
Ohio St. - B1G Title Game	Standard Purple, White N	White	White
Utah - Holiday	Alt. Black, Holiday	White	White

2019 Game	Helmet	Jersey	Pants
Stanford- Away	Standard Purple, White N	White	Purple
UNLV - Home	Alt. Black, Purple N	Purple	Black
Michigan St. - Home	Alt. Black, Purple N	Black	Purple
Wisconsin - Away	Alt. Purple CFB150th	Alt. White CFB150th	Alt. Purple CFB150th
Nebraska - Away	Alt. Black, Purple N	White	Black
Ohio State - Home	Alt. Gothic Black	Alt. 2019 Gothic Black	Alt. 2019 Gothic Black
Iowa - Home	Standard Purple, White N	Purple	White
Indiana - Away	Alt. White, Purple N	White	Black
Purdue - Home	Alt. White, Flag N	Purple	White
UMass - Home	Standard Purple, White N	Black	Purple
Minnesota - Home	Alt. White, Purple N	Black	Black
Illinois - Away	Alt. White, Purple N	White	White

2020 Game	Helmet	Jersey	Pants
Maryland - Home	Standard Purple, White N	Black	Black
Iowa - Away	Alt. White, Purple N	White	White
Nebraska - Home	Alt. White, Flag N	Purple	Purple
Purdue - Away	Alt. Black, Purple N	White	Black
Wisconsin - Home	Standard Purple, White N	Purple	White
Michigan St. - Away	Alt. White, Black N	White	Black
Illinois - Home	Alt. Gothic Black	Alt. 2019 Gothic Black	Alt. 2019 Gothic Black
Ohio St. - B1G Title Game	Standard Purple, White N	White	Purple
Auburn - Citrus	Alt. White, Purple N	Purple	White

2021 Game	Helmet	Jersey	Pants
Michigan St. - Home	Alt. Gothic Black	Alt. 2019 Gothic Black	Alt. 2019 Gothic Black
Indiana St. - Home	Alt. Purple, Flag N	Purple	White
Duke - Away	Alt. White, Purple N	White	Purple
Ohio U. - Home	Alt. Black, Purple N	Purple	Black
Nebraska - Away	Alt. Black, Purple N	White	Black
Rutgers - Home	Alt. White, Purple N	Purple	Purple
Michigan - Away	Standard Purple, White N	White	Purple
Minnesota - Home	Alt. White, Purple N	Black	White
Iowa - Home	Standard Purple, White N	Purple	Black
Wisconsin - Away	Standard Purple, White N	White	White
Purdue - Home @ Wrigley	Standard Purple, White N	Black	Purple
Illinois - Away	Alt. White, Purple N	White	White

2016-2021 Alternate Uniform Components

(For HTP's suggested uniform for
the 2018 NU-Notre Dame game,
click here)

Jerseys

JERSEY PATCHES: The Wildcats wore their standard purple jersey in the 2016 Pinstripe, 2017 Music City, and 2021 Citrus Bowls, with the addition of a bowl patch on the left side of the chest.

For the 2018 Holiday Bowl, the 'Cats wore their standard white jersey, with a Holiday Bowl patch on the left chest.

During the 2019 season, most teams are paying tribute to the 150th anniversary of intercollegiate football by wearing some version of the following patch. NU is wearing its patch on the right shoulder, between the shoulder numbers and the B1G logo on the right chest.

ALTERNATE BLACK 2016 JERSEY (BLACK): Similar to the alternate black jersey that NU wore occasionally during 2012 - 2015, with the same modifications made to NU's 2016 standard purple jersey.

Helmets

HELMET DECALS:

For the September 24, 2016 game with Nebraska, the 'Cats wore a helmet sticker to honor the memory of Nebraska punter Sam Foltz. Foltz was killed in an auto accident in July 2016, along with MSU punter Mike Sadler.
For the 2016 Pinstripe Bowl, NU added a Chicago flag decal to the back of the helmet (as it did for the 2016 Outback Bowl). The team also wore this decal on the back of their helmets, to honor the late sportscaster Craig Sager, an NU alumnus:

During its 2017 game with Iowa, NU wore an alternate, throwback helmet to honor the 1962 Wildcat team. On the back of the helmet, the team also wore a helmet decal with the word "ARA" in purple and in the standard Morgan Poster font. The decal honored former coach Ara Parseghian, who died earlier in the year.
For the 2017 Music City Bowl, NU again added the Chicago flag decal, along with a Music City logo decal.
During the 2018 Holiday Bowl, the 'Cats wore the Chicago flag decal, as well as a winged Mercury decal. The Mercury decal was in honor of a slain Utah student, and both teams wore the decal.
For its Oct. 24, 2020 opener vs. Maryland, NU wore the following Big Ten helmet decal advocating voting in the upcoming election:

Starting with the 2020 game vs. Nebraska, NU began wearing a decal with the word "JARV" on its helmet, similar to the "JARV" wordmark it wore on the helmet's front bumper in the 2010 Iowa game. The front bumper decal in 2010 was to honor longtime equipment manager Bill Jarvis, who had retired. Jarvis passed in November 2020, and the team brought back the JARV decal, this time worn on the bottom back of the helmet.
On November 21, 2020, for the game against Wisconsin, NU added another memorial sticker next to the JARV logo. The new decal memorialized Joe Orozco, a former NU assistant performance coach who died earlier in November. The 'Cats wore both decals for their remaining games in '20.

For the 2021 Citrus Bowl, NU kept the memorial patches on the bottom-left of the back of the helmet, and it added a Citrus Bowl logo in the center of the back of the helmet, above the player numbers.
For the 2021 game at Nebraska, NU wore the following decal on the back of its black helmet. The symbol represents Hilinski's Hope, an organization devoted to raising awareness of student mental health, named for former Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski (brother of current NU quarterback Ryan Hilinski).

For the November 20, 2021 game at Wrigley Field, NU wore a decal with the logo of Uplifting Athletes, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness and funds for rare diseases:

ALTERNATE HELMETS:

Alt. White, Purple N: Introduced in 2013. When the 'Cats wore this helmet in the 2020 game at Iowa, they used a white facemask, the first white helmet/white facemask combo during the Under Armour era.

Alt. Purple, Flag N: Introduced in 2011. The 2021 version is slightly different from the version used in 2011 through 2017: NU used the updated flag N (brighter, with a chrome outline) that it has been using for its white helmet with the flag N. Also, the 2021 version used the white face guard for the first time on the purple helmet.

Alt. Black, Purple N: Introduced in 2016, this new design is similar to the matte black helmet with the black N from 2013. Like the 2013 helmet, this has a chrome/silver outline on the N; however, this N is purple, not black. This is also similar to the 2014 Gothic helmet. The Gothic helmet, however, had a gold outline on the purple N. It also had striping and an image of the Arch on the back. The Alt. Black Purple N helmet has no stripes or image aside from the N logo.The 2021 version is almost identical to the 2016 version, with a white outline around the N, instead of the chrome outline.

Alt. Black, 'Cat Head: Introduced in 2012

Alt. Purple, 'Cat Head: New for 2016, this design is the purple version of the 2012 'Cat Head helmet.

Alt. White, Black N: The team's 13th alternate helmet since 2011, this helmet was introduced on October 29, 2016, in Columbus. It is similar to the white helmet with the purple N. However, this helmet has a black N with a chrome outline (similar to the decal on the Gator Bowl helmet) and a black faceguard. The 'Cats brought this helmet back for their 2020 game at MSU, but with a twist: the black N had a purple outline instead of a chrome one.

Alt. White, 'Cat Head: Introduced in 2015

Alt. White, Chrome N: Introduced in 2017, at Duke

Alt. Black, Black N: Introduced during the 2012 season

Alt. White, '62 TBack: Introduced in 2017, vs. Iowa. This throwback helmet is a tribute to the late Ara Parseghian's great 1962 team, 55 years after that team hit #1 in the nation. NU wore it again in 2018 vs. Notre Dame, another nod to 1962, and the last time that NU beat the Irish at Dyche Stadium.. The white helmet's black numbers are actually a little oversized, more resembling the Wildcat helmets of the mid-sixties than '62.

Alt. Black, P&G 'Cat Head: No, P&G doesn't stand for "Pride & Guts"; it's "Purple & Gold," the colors of the modified 'Cat Head logo on this helmet, introduced at the 2017 MSU game. Unlike the 2012 alternate black 'Cat Head helmet, which featured a chrome logo, this version features a shiny purple and gold copy of the oversized 'Cat with the odd lightning mark at the base.

Alt. White, Flag N: Introduced in 2015. The 2015 version, like most helmets during this period, had the "WIN" wordmark on the front bumber. However, when the 'Cats used this helmet again in 2018, it was strangely lacking the WIN bumper. Instead, the helmet had a red, standard Riddell logo on the front bumper. It's the only NU helmet during this period to feature Riddell's logo on the front bumper. The 2020 version of the helmet used the usual "WIN" front bumper, but had a white facemask instead of purple.

Alt. Purple, Black N: Introduced at the night home game vs. Akron in 2018, this is a new take on NU's classic helmet, now featuring a black Athletic N with a white border.

Alt. White, 2018 Camo: First worn during NU's Nov. 10 win at Iowa, this design honors Veterans Day. It features the Athletic N on the player's right, rendered in camoflage (tan, green, and... purple) with a purple outline. On the player's left is his number, in a stencil font, also rendered in camo with a purple outline. This is the third-ever NU helmet with different left and right-side designs.

Alt. Black, Holiday: Worn during the 2018 Holiday Bowl, this helmet has the same (player's) right side as the 2016 Alt. Black Purple N helmet design. However, the player's left side features the player number, in modified Morgan Poster font, purple with the same chrome outline as the N logo on the right side.

2016-21 Alternate Total Uniforms

2016-17 Graphite Uniform (Alt. Graphite)

For its 2016 home game vs. Wisconsin, NU unveiled a new alternate uniform, the Graphite, featuring gray versions of NU's standard jerseys and pants.

HELMET: The team initially announced that it would wear the 2015 white helmet with oversized 'Cat Head with the Graphite unis. However, two days before the game NU switched helmets, going with the 2016 purple version of the 'Cat Head helmet.

For the 2017 Purdue game (played on Veterans Day), NU wore the Graphite unis with its 2011 Flag helmet. However, the 2011 Flag helmet was slightly modified for this game: it had a grey facemask, to match the uniform, and the Flag N decal was slightly different from earlier versions (metallic finish, silver outline, star field on right side of N for decals worn on the helmet's right side).

JERSEY: The gray version of the NU jersey is very similar to the standard uniform: a purple Northwestern stripe on the chest and back and the Northwestern wordmark in Morgan Poster Avec. However, the white numerals have a purple outline.

PANTS: Also standard format except for the color, the Graphite pants are gray, with a purple N on the left hip and purple Northwestern stripes on the thighs.

2019 College Football 150th Anniversary Tribute Uniform (CFB150th)

2019 marked the 150th anniversary of the Princeton vs. Rutgers game, considered the first intercollegiate football game. Several teams, including Northwestern, celebrated the milestone by sporting special throwback uniforms.

Northwestern's tribute uniform (which will be worn vs. Wisconsin) is not a throwback in the strict sense: it is "inspired" by early NU uniforms.

HELMET: The helmet is actually a new design: a purple shell, featuring a single white stripe. The side logo is "NU" in plain block letters.

JERSEY: The concept is supposed to mimic NU's earliest football jerseys. However, NU's jerseys in the 1880s and early '90s did not have front numbers, and they sported the "NWU" abbreviation used by the school at that time. The new jersey sports "NU" in block letters instead; Northwestern in the 21st century would never use "NWU" on its gear.

PANTS: Like the helmet and jersey, the pants look retro, but have never been worn by the team. They are plain purple with a large, plain "N" on the left hip.

2019-2021 Gothic Uniform (Alt. 2019 Gothic)

For the first time since 2015-- and, surprisingly, for only the third time ever-- the football team wore its gothic uniform. The 2019 version was a little different from the 2014 and '15 versions.

HELMET: Virtually identical to the 2014-15 Gothic helmet.

JERSEY: The biggest change in the 2019 gothic jersey appears to be the sleeve stripes. On the previous gothic versions, the Northwestern stripe was above the sleeve's N and was shaped like an arch. On the new jersey the stripes are beside the N. The brick and ivy pattern appears more pronounced on the sleeve. The gothic font "Northwestern" wordmark appears to be the same.

For the 2020 game vs. Illinois, NU kept the 2019 version of the gothic jersey, without the 150th anniversary patch.

PANTS:Totallly new pants design for the 2019 Gothic uniform. While the old version had the ivory and brickwork pattern on the back of the legs, the 2019 Gothic pants are plain black with no pattern, featuring a gold UnderArmour logo and a purple N with a gold outline on the left hip.

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